Patrons from the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, ran for the exits after a gunman opened fire inside the club on June 12, 2016. Univision Florida Central / EPA
Patrons from the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, ran for the exits after a gunman opened fire inside the club on June 12, 2016. Univision Florida Central / EPA
50 killed in Florida nightclub shooting rampage, deadliest on US soil
It was the second shooting incident in Orlando in over 24 hours, coming shortly after singer Christina Grimmie was shot dead on Friday by a gunman who stormed a theatre where she had just finished a gig.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA // A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a packed nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday killing 50 people and injuring 53 others before dying in a gunfight with Swat officers. It was the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen of Afghan descent, and the FBI was investigating whether he had radical Islamic “leanings” or may have had a terrorist motive. “This is clearly an act of terror,” Florida governor Rick Scott said, declaring a county-wide state of emergency.
US media, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Mateen called 911 before the shooting at the gay nightclub and swore allegiance to ISIL.
But the suspect’s father told NBC News that his son may have been motivated by homophobia, not by his Muslim faith.
“This had nothing to do with religion,” Mir Seddique said, recalling a recent incident in downtown Miami.
“He saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry,” the father said, apologising to the victims.
Relatives interviewed by US media say Mateen, who worked as a security officer, was not overly religious but had anti-gay views and had regularly assaulted his ex-wife.
Terrified survivors described how the gunman raked the club with bullets, prompting a police Swat team to storm the venue and shoot him dead.
Mayor Buddy Dyer said that the 50 people who were died were killed by the assault rifle.
“There are another 53 that are hospitalised,” he said. Officials said many of the victims were in critical condition, and the death toll could rise.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene when the gunfire began shortly before the Pulse club – which had more than 300 people inside – was to close.
“Some guy walked in and started shooting everybody. He had an automatic rifle, so nobody stood a chance,” said Jackie Smith, whose two friends next to her were shot. “I just tried to get out of there.” Ms Smith did not know the conditions of her friends and burst into tears when she came out of the hospital.
Relatives and friends of the victims, many in tears, gathered outside the hospital to learn the fate of loved ones.
Christine Leinonen drove to Orlando at 4am after learning of the shooting from a friend of her 32-year-old son, Christopher Leinonen, who was at Pulse and was missing.
She has not heard from her son and fears the worse.
“These are nonsensical killings of our children,” she said, sobbing. “They’re killing our babies!”
She said her son’s friend Brandon Wolf survived by hiding in a bathroom and running out as the bullets flew.
A woman who was outside the club early Sunday was trying to contact her son, Eddie, 30, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police. He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: “He’s coming.”
“The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in here with us’,” Mina Justice said. “That was the last conversation.”
The suspect exchanged gunfire with a police officer working at the club. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, police chief John Mina said.
At about 5am local time, authorities sent in a Swat team to rescue the hostages.
Authorities were looking into whether the attack was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter acted alone, according to Danny Banks, an agent with the Florida department of law enforcement.
FBI official Ronald Hopper said officials were confident there was no immediate further threat to the area, or to the United States.
Omar Mateen was born to Afghan parents in 1986 and lives in Port St Lucie, Florida, about two hours drive from Orlando.
CBS News reported that Mateen had no apparent criminal history but Fox News said that the FBI had opened a file on Mateen as recently as 2013.
Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House homeland security committee, dubbed the murders “the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11”.
The latest mass shooting comes at the height of what is already a heated US presidential election campaign, and the main candidates were quick to react.
Democratic flag-bearer Hillary Clinton tweeted that the attack was “devastating” news and that her “thoughts are with those affected by this horrific act”.
Her Republican rival Donald Trump, who has called for Muslims to be banned from travelling to the United States, tweeted: “When will this stop?”
“When will we get tough, smart and vigilant?” he demanded.
* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Switzerland 5
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Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Other workplace saving schemes
The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.